


probable and necessary

by LNC



Series: Coffee Shop Playlist [7]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Identity Reveal, Theatre AU, post reveal pre relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-30
Updated: 2020-01-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:48:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22472854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LNC/pseuds/LNC
Summary: The kids put on a play.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Coffee Shop Playlist [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1424935
Comments: 21
Kudos: 246





	probable and necessary

**Author's Note:**

  * For [finarel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/finarel/gifts).



> This is for the beautiful, wonderfully patient, oh so understanding finarel who requested a Theatre AU and let me sit on this for months while I figured out what story I wanted to tell. You’re a doll and I hope this will be worth the wait. This is a story in five parts.

It was, as these things usually are, an accident.

A wrong place, wrong time sort of moment that tilted the world cockeyed and over until left was down was up was right and all Adrien could do was tremble as everything he thought he knew became something else entirely.

“Marinette?”

He didn’t mean to speak at all or maybe he did. He didn’t, _couldn’t_ , trust himself in that moment. The moment where red and black became pink and white and a heroine’s tired satisfaction transformed into stammering terror.

“ _A-Adrien?_ ”

The world faded around him and all that existed was his name on her lips and a pair of endless blue eyes staring back at him in wonderfied horror.

“I can explain!”

The pounding of footsteps, familiar and hard on the pavement, brought him back to himself. He rushed forward, pulling a frozen Marinette with him to hide behind the nearby dumpster. Peeking his head just around the corner he could see the Gorilla running past and a queer sort of horror settled in his gut as his plans for the afternoon took form.

The Gorilla, the photoshoot, ice cream and… Kagami. 

_Marinette_.

“Adrien,” She whispered, tugging her hand from his tight grip. He watched her as if removed from himself– he hadn’t even realized he was still holding onto her. “I can… it’s not what it looks like.”

She glanced down to her purse where a familiar red sprite was peeking out at him. Tikki’s large eyes were grave, so different from the last time he’d seen her.

Adrien clenched his hands to stop from trembling.

“You don’t have to,” He croaked. “E-explain I mean.”

“I do though. I really, _really_ do.” She tugged at her pigtails, agitated. “Oh god Tikki, I fucked up this time.”

Adrien grabbed her wrists, pulled them down, held them close.

“I won’t tell anyone,” He promised. “You can trust me.”

He hesitated before bringing up his hand and flashing his ring.

Her eyes strayed to his hand and stared.

She laughed, a high, hysterical sound and shook her head.

“Right. You would know.” Adrien’s heart stuttered as her fingers slid over his, down his palm, and rubbed at the pulse point on his wrist. “Thank you. Again. F-for your help.”

Disappointment and realization came crashing down as he understood where she hadn’t.

 _Aspik_.

He slipped his hand from hers to rub the back of his neck. “Luka did better.”

“Not better, Adrien.” Marinette said and if it wasn’t _Marinette_ he would swear she was scolding him. “We had Chat Noir then. Everything is easier with Chat.”

“Oh.”

Adrien wasn’t blushing. He _wasn’t_.

His eyes strayed back to Tikki whose fathomless stare asked the questions his own kwami’s pocket squirming couldn’t.

He had to tell her.

“Well that’s… that’s good to hear my l–”

The alleyway echoed with generic calypso music as Adrien’s phone went off. He cringed, pulling it out of his pocket only to reveal Kagami’s smile lighting up the screen. He hesitated, his finger hovering over the answer button.

Marinette fidgeted. “You should take that.”

Adrien stared at his screen, Kagami’s image blurring into light like he didn’t know what it meant.

But Marinette did. Of course she did.

“Go on, Adrien. It’s okay.”

But _was_ it? 

_Was_ it okay?

Something deep twisted in his gut, but she was already stepping away.

“My lady wait!” He said, pressing the silence button and pocketing his phone. Marinette froze in profile before her eyes flashed back to his. Her cheeks went from pink to white to red so rapidly he could have missed it but when she whirled back to face him all she could do was gape.

“ _Chat?_ ”

Adrien nodded, taking a step forward only to stop when she flinched.

Then, into the breach, Plagg came tumbling. His cackling doing nothing to dispel the tension rising up between him and his partner. Adrien watched in terrified wonder as Marinette’s eyes went from his kwami to his ring to his face and back before a steady, body shaking tremor overtook her.

“Oh.” She whispered. “Oh.”

Adrien’s phone went off again.

She winced. “ _Oh_.”

“Marinette,” He said, only to find he couldn’t find any other words.

And apparently, neither could she.

“I- I need to think.” She said, shaking her head. “I can’t– you– busy.”

She took off then before he could stop her and it was only as he stared after Marinette’s disappearing back that he remembered his not-so-long-ago conversation with Plagg. 

“She– she wouldn’t take away my miraculous for this would she?”

Plagg stopped laughing.

Dread, cold and black, ran fingers down his spine.

_Oh god._

Adrien hadn’t given much thought to what would happen if they revealed themselves since Master Fu disappeared. He figured, when (always _when_ never if) it happened it would be mutual, on their own terms, and (preferably) followed up by one or a dozen kisses.

Falling over each other in an alleyway next to an overripe dumpster never figured into his plans.

His plans with Kagami were cut short when the Gorilla stumbled upon a distracted Adrien wandering down the arrondissement. It was, he thought with no small amount of guilt, probably for the best. The trip home was quiet, Plagg just as unsure as himself.

The next few days were interminable.

School felt like a futile game of cat and mouse where the cat wasn’t really sure he wanted to catch the mouse at all. Marinette doggedly avoided him however saving him from making any decisions or doing anything too rash.

On the fifth day going on little to no sleep Plagg disappeared. An hour of frantic searching left him spiraling into the worst possibilities ranging from Hawkmoth capturing him to Ladybug taking away his miraculous. Both would have been devastating and he wasn’t (entirely) sure which was worse.

He was about to give in and text Marinette when Plagg reappeared through his windows. After a frantic hug and an even more frantic scolding Adrien relaxed enough to realize Marinette beat him to the punch.

_01:34 don’t freak out. plagg is with me._

and then later

_02:27 sending him back now. don’t listen to him if he says he’s hungry– i gave him some of papa’s cheese danishes_

_02:33 he was worried. i didn’t mean to scare you, adrien_

_02:34 i’m not ready to talk yet but of course i’m not taking away your miraculous_

_02:46 you’re my partner_

Adrien’s shoulders fell in relief.

And if he reread her last text until he finally fell asleep, well, 

no one had to know.


End file.
